Harris Teeter plans transition for five SC Piggly Wiggly stores

Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. (NYSE:HTSI) has announced transition plans for five Piggly Wiggly locations it recently acquired in South Carolina.

The Matthews-based grocery chain announced in September it had an agreement with Greenbax Enterprises Inc. to purchase six Piggly Wiggly stores, as well as one future store planned for Charleston.

On Wednesday, Harris Teeter said it has temporarily closed four Piggly Wiggly locations, with the last store slated to close on Thursday.

It will begin stocking those stores and training employees before reopening under the Harris Teeter banner. The pharmacies at those locations will remain open throughout the transition.

All locations are slated to reopen by Oct. 26.

“These store locations and the dedicated associates who work in them make this an especially attractive transaction for Harris Teeter,” Harris Teeter CEO Thomas Dickson said in a statement following the transaction.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The grocery chain says it intends to remodel the stores. Locations will remain open during that process.

Harris Teeter also says opening dates have not been set for the final two Piggly Wiggly stores it acquired. That includes a store under construction on the Isle of Palms, S.C., and one on Maybank Highway in Charleston.

It anticipates the Charleston store will take about a year to remodel. Harris Teeter took possession of that store this week.

Not counting the Piggly Wiggly sites, Harris Teeter has 216 stores in eight states and Washington, D.C. The bulk of those stores are in North Carolina.